The cello is such a melancholy instrument, such an isolated, miserable instrument.

I don’t use the twang bar anymore. It’s become too popular.

If a ballet dancer falls over, it’s knowing how to get out looking clumsy that counts.

The only way you can get good, unless you’re a genius, is to copy. That’s the best thing. Just steal.

I feel like I own the stage.

If you can play well in the studio, you can play well on stage.

But you have to give your whole life to a cello. When I realized that, I went back to the guitar and just turned the volume up a bit louder.

Those record companies don’t know what’s happening at all.

I had given up on the guitar between ’75 and ’78. I completely lost interest. I was sick of hearing other guitar players and I was tired of my tunes.

Jimi… He was the gov’nor and that’s it. He was brilliant, wasn’t he?

Everything I do is usually totally spontaneous.

What’s the point of re-releasing an album? The original sounded good, why change something about it?

I had given up the guitar between ’75 and ’78. I completely lost interest. I was sick of hearing other guitar players and I was tired of my tunes.

Johnny Winter is one of the best blues players in the world. He’s very underrated.

I can do the old hand vibrato just fine, but I like attacking the strings.

When I was 20, I didn’t give a damn about song construction. I just wanted to make as much noise and play as fast and as loud as possible.

I have never met one person who likes Grand Funk.

Learning to play with a big amplifier is like trying to control an elephant.

I can imagine that Rod Stewart likes giving autographs because he’s pure showbusiness.

When something is not good, it’s bad. Period.

I however don’t go to clubs to show off and to be seen, and certainly not to make statements. I just want to be able to quietly watch a band.

Pete Townshend used to crash chords and let the guitar feed back. He’s overrated.

I can never remember what I do even in the studio.

When you’re around someone good, your own standards are raised.

I like leaping around on stage as long as it’s done with class. None of this jumping up in the air and doing the splits.

Playing a Fender is an art itself. They’re always going out of tune.

I can turn on some jazz guitarist, and he won’t do a thing for me, if he’s not playing electrically. But Jeff Beck’s great to listen to.

When you’re recording, if you’re not really clean in your playing, it sounds like a mess.

I’m not good enough, technically, to be a classic musician. I lack discipline.

Session work makes you more strict. You can’t hit notes all over the place. You’ve got to make each one really count.

I criticize my own work pretty harshly.

When you’ve toured for about 10 years like me, you end up feeling like you’re always waiting for somebody or something. The whole day is a drag.

I’m not into that Keith Richard trip of having all those guitars in different tunings. I never liked the Rolling Stones much anyway.

Simplicity is the key.

I don’t put myself on Jeff Beck’s level, but I can relate to him when he says he’d rather be working on his car collection than playing the guitar.

I’ve always played every amp I’ve ever had full up, because rock and roll is supposed to be played loud. Also, that’s how you get your sustain.

I’m very moved by Renaissance music, but I still love to play hard rock – though only if it’s sophisticated and has some thought behind it.

Stevie Ray Vaughan was very intense. Maybe that’s what caught everybody’s attention. As a player, he didn’t do anything amazing.

I don’t see myself as such an important guitarist.

Ian Gillan, Roger Glover and I wanted to be a hard rock band – we wanted to play rock and roll only.